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It’s not your broadband that is at fault...

Have you considered how the materials that pin your building together might be affecting the quality of your Wi-Fi setup? I’m guessing probably not. Generally speaking; in our homes and at work we don’t seem to have much knowledge about Wireless and Radio Frequency (RF) theory. Why would you? After all, there’s physics involved that you probably don’t need to know. Unless you're an IT professional or you’re keen to delve deeper into something that you use every day of course.

Do you think it would be useful to know how RF propagates? The characteristics and how the Radio Frequencies can behave in certain conditions?

Knowing this can improve your knowledge for the future and the performance of your Wireless environment now.

The intention of this blog is an introduction into a few of the Radio Frequency behaviours and why they are worth considering in your Small Office Home Office (SOHO) environment. Various behaviours occur due to obstacles and changes to the environment that you are in, especially with outdoor setups that are out in the elements.

​Absorption

This is where a signal does not bounce or reflect off of an object, its strength is reduced by absorption into thick materials such as concrete and brick. Although most materials will absorb some amount of an RF signal. For example Coleman D (2015)- CWNA, states: "a 2.4 GHz signal will be 1/16 the original power after propagating through a brick wall. That same signal will only lose ½ the original power after passing through drywall material." Due to the water content in the human body, us humans are considered a form of absorption too - so high density areas are at risk.

Real life meaning: Have you wondered why downstairs at home your signal is great and upstairs you have 1 bar and you're barely getting connected, if at all? Absorption will be up there with one of the reasons why. It’s not your broadband at fault as most presume! Below is a visual of how the signal reduces.

Reflection

This is where a wave hits a smooth object (that is larger than itself) and bounces in a different direction. This can create more than one instance of your propagated signal (Multipath). This was once a detrimental issue with the 802.11a/b/g standards until the introduction of MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output). 802.11n and 802.11ac utilise these once frowned upon behaviours with MIMO technology.

Real life meaning: If you work in an office space with lots of glass windows and doors etc then you will either be seeing the pros or the cons of Reflection, depending on your setup and the technology used. Make sure your technology is up to date!

Loss

Loss or Free Space Path Loss (FSPL) as it’s more technically known, is the most natural form of attenuation. This is simply the decrease of amplitude/signal strength through free space (the air). It's the widening of the waves as it gets further away from the antenna.

Real life meaning: Do you wonder why you can’t get a good enough signal in your garden at home and your Wi-Fi doesn’t work there? Well it’s simply because you are too far away from your Wi-Fi Router (FSPL in effect). This isn’t the only reason but it’s the most common reason in the majority of cases.

There are quite a few Radio Frequency behaviours that I haven’t discussed but I have highlighted the most common. If you have more interest in this area then study RF theory or embark on the CWNA journey: https://www.cwnp.com/certifications/cwna

The below extract Table1 is from the CWNA study book highlighting the attenuation of 2.4 Ghz signals through various materials. I hope you found this blog useful. ​

As a customer myself I know that we all like to have free Guest Wi-Fi pretty much wherever we go now, it’s a part of our culture. Business owners like to provide this service as well and ultimately allow their customers to promote their business while they’re on-site.

It’s very tempting to opt for the pre-configured Wireless network that comes with your ISPs (Internet Service Providers) Wi-Fi router. I’ve seen a lot of businesses put up signs detailing the Guest Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password that the customer needs to look for. Some of them on well printed leaflets and some written by hand on small pieces of paper, using details like in Figure 1:

Figure 1

​This kind of setup is mostly down to a lack of knowledge in the area and for a quick fix. The purpose of this blog is to highlight the downsides of setting up your own ‘Guest Wi-Fi’ service. This is from both a technical and business point of view.

Technical Considerations

The use of ISP equipment and legacy technology

There are many draw backs with using ISPs equipment. The starting point would be the physical technology itself and its limitations. A Wireless Router is a hybrid device, it’s effectively a router and a mini Access Point all-in-one. A jack of all trades with limited hardware space. Whereas a Wireless Access Point is designed solely for facilitating Wireless networks. See Figure 2 for what an Access Point looks like. It’s the best device to use for a professional service. They allow you to configure many more aspects of Radio Frequency than a Wireless Router does, such as transmit power levels which is important for the coverage of your WiFi.

Figure 2

​The equipment quickly becomes dated and businesses end up using legacy physical and 802.11 standards without knowing. Figure 3 shows the standard Sky router config which only offers 2.4Ghz, which is a very contended technology. Wireless routers might also only offer legacy security and encryption like WEP, which is easily cracked.

Figure 3

For a small business offering Guest Wi-Fi the bare minimum you should be running is the following. A dual band environment (2.4Ghz ISM & 5Ghz UNII bands) using these standards 802.11a/g/n/ac via an Access Point if possible. Using these standards allows all public devices to connect to the WiFi apart from legacy clients that are 802.11b. Eliminating 802.11b from your network and its 1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps data rate will provide a much greater service for everyone on your Wi-Fi. ​

Prior to install

A frequency spectrum & protocol analysis should be performed, which a lot of businesses don’t even know about. This will highlight interference from other non-Wi-Fi related devices (Walkie Talkies/Microwaves etc) and also the channels that are being used by other WiFi Routers and Access Points. Having your equipment on the same channel as your neighbour will cause Co-Channel Interference (CCI) which seriously degrades your Wi-Fi. The analysis provides you with this information and enables you to avoid these channels (which you can statically set).

The final technical point

Is about the placement of your Access Point. Many providers such as Sky’s ‘The Cloud’ are installing access points for many venues out there but are not advising their customers about where they should be installed, the optimum location. My local pub has their Sky Wireless Access Point underneath the bar so that it’s out of sight. The Wi-Fi is subsequently very poor for the simple reason that the Radio Frequencies can’t propagate properly as there are many obstructions in the way. Within the Wireless community there is a jovial hashtag called #BadFi by @heyeddie that gives examples of some badly placed Access Points, check it out. Some of them are very interesting to say the least :)

​To clarify the placement aspect, you should see an Access Point in the analogy of a ceiling light. For the light to cover the room properly it needs to be up high and in a central location, the same applies to Wireless. Due to various restraints this isn't always possible unfortunately. The location is very important if a top-notch service is to be provided. Figure 4 is an example of a good placement.

Figure 4

From a business point of view​​

Not getting a professional in to setup your Wireless network means you are missing out on some great promotion for your business. Little things like changing your SSID from ‘BTHomeHub2-ABCD’ to your business name like ‘Ultimate Wi-Fi Guest’ can make your business look a lot more professional.

You can also capture data from customers signing into your Wi-Fi by various methods like Facebook login and Captive Portals that give them a choice of login. If you offer an easy way for people to login to your Wireless network it eliminates your staff being asked how to access the Wi-Fi and negates the need for long or default Wi-Fi codes! which are a security risk anyway.

Get a professional in

There are many reasons why you should get a professional in to look at your Wireless setup and see how it can be improved. Wireless technology is a science and it should be treated as such.

For more information on Facebook Wi-Fi login check out the About Us section.

Having started my Guest WiFi business Ultimate Wi-Fi I have learnt so many things that have opened up a whole new world for me. Including a completely new business model and website which is work in progress. I have learnt business skills on how to create a brand, to building a website, right through to registering a company. More importantly though, I have learnt how to find the resources I need for my new found passion in the Wireless world.

How to increase your learning

This is the most important thing to master, in my opinion. With the digital era taking over, there is every resource under the sun available to you, you just have to find them. If you have a strong desire to learn then you will find your path, even if it takes you away from your intended course. I started my journey on a whim and am now studying every day to get some cwnp.com qualifications - which I highly recommend!

My big tip would be to get yourself on Twitter and start following the industry experts. There are whole host of experts out there that love to share their knowledge. They regularly have heated discussions relating to Wireless technology, all for the love I might add. You can learn a bundle from these guys. If you are reading this and are keen to start on the 802.11 journey then I strongly advise you to follow the below people. There are lots more that contribute to this fantastic community but I will let you find them :-)

https://twitter.com/KeithRParsonsA very inspirational guy that knows his industry inside out. He runs a great website called wlanpros.com that has some awesome resources on. He runs the biggest WLAN conference out there, bringing all the industry together. Keith is very active on Twitter and gives some great tips on a daily basis!

https://twitter.com/wirednotLee is the creator of the infamous #WIFIQ hashtag. Search this and read the community in full force, there are some interesting topics and views to be found. He also writes some interesting blogs over at wirednot.wordpress.com

https://twitter.com/WifiNigelAlso a great teacher. Nigel very kindly runs a podcast called wififorbeginners.com that teaches you all about Wireless from an entry level up to more expert level. I listen to these over and over again. He has years worth of experience in the networking world and is a top Wireless consultant in the UK.

Finding the above resources has started me on a very exciting journey into the world of WiFi and Wireless technology. My advice is to be yourself, get involved and enjoy the ride. Share as much knowledge as you can, we're all learning new things every day. Let’s spread the love!